Ontario election begins

The election in Ontario, and the threat of provincial Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak’s attack on labour that were discussed at many Leadership Tour meetings over the winter, has been called for June 12.

“This is one of the challenges we were preparing for all winter with our Rights at Work campaign,” Unifor National President Jerry Dias said.

“If Tim Hudak can back the clock on labour laws in Ontario, other provinces will be looking to do the same.”

Dias and other national leaders made 21 stops across the country in the first few months of the year, meeting with local leaders and activists to tell them about the many threats to labour rights across Canada, including Hudak’s Conservatives.

While Hudak has dropped his plan to kill the Rand Formula from the Conservative election platform, Dias pointed out that Hudak still supports the idea, and has many other policies aimed at weakening unions and driving down wages and living standards.

The Rand formula sets out that while workers can choose whether to join a union, they must pay dues to the union they are covered by under the collective agreement it negotiates with the employer.

“Unifor will not only defend the laws we have, but will push for stronger laws in Ontario and in other provinces,” Dias said.

Unifor’s plans for the Ontario election will be announced shortly, Member Mobilization Director Roland Kiehne said.